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Now that we in Illinois have had our long-needed governorectomy, perhaps we could pay more attention to our sorry fiscal state, the fact that our taxes are high, the fact that our schools are dysfunctional thanks to the unwillingness of Illinois's politicians to implement innovative policies like school choice and the competition that would come with it and would make Illinois's schools better in the process.

All of this, of course, requires the participation of Illinois's voting public; we can't make our state better if the public does not participate in the effort. I would urge my fellow Illinoisans to consider the fact that one-party domination in our state has played a tremendous role in encouraging the kind of corruption that Rod Blagojevich engaged in. We need to have a vibrant two-party system that will ensure the presence of checks and balances against the abuses that naturally arise when one party wields untrammeled political power. The state GOP has an obligation to restructure itself and make itself competitive again in statewide elections. But I would hope that my fellow Illinoisans will give the party of Lincoln a chance again just as I would hope that the party of Lincoln works to make itself worthy of a political renaissance. Only by having a competitive electoral process will we be able to separate the wheat from the chaff amongst Illinoisan politicians, and thus augment the state of political discourse and the standards of personal conduct in high office.

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